Global watchdog lauds India’s bid to curb laundering, terror funds

India has a “high level of technical compliance” to counter money laundering and terror financing in accordance to standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog said on Friday.

However, while FATF lauded the “good results” that India has achieved in its efforts to curb money laundering and terror financing, it noted that the nation must focus on delays in implementing prosecutions related to such crimes.

The task force had incorporated The Mutual Evaluation Report of India at the FATF Plenary held in Singapore from June 26 and June 28 this year and placed India in the “regular follow-up” category alongside only four other G20 countries.

“The Plenary concluded that India has reached a high level of technical compliance with the FATF requirements and its AML/CFT/CPF (anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism/ counter proliferation financing) regime is achieving good results, including in its ML (money laundering) and TF (terrorist financing) risk understanding, international cooperation, access to basic and beneficial ownership information, use of financial intelligence, and depriving criminals of their assets and counter-proliferation financing measures,” a statement from FATF said.

The FATF recognised India’s efforts in reducing risks arising from money laundering and terror funds, which includes fraud, corruption and organised crime. The task force made a special observation of India’s efforts to transition from a cash-based economy to a digital economy in order to lessen money laundering and terror financing. Digital transaction has received a boost owing to the implementation of the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) Trinity, besides strictures that have made cash transactions traceable, FATF noted.

The government has introduced several legislative changes to tackle black money, money laundering and terror financing since 2014, according to FATF, and successfully executing such strategies has helped India attain global standards as far as such operatives go. As a result, the incidence of black money, narcotics movement and terror funding have been thwarted all over India including the coastline.

“Over a two-year period, the Department of Revenue (DoR) spearheaded India’s engagement with FATF during the mutual evaluation process. This success was driven by the exceptional efforts and invaluable contribution of a diverse, multi-disciplinary team comprising representatives from various ministries, the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), state authorities, the judiciary, financial sector regulators, self-regulatory organisations, financial institutions, and businesses all played a critical role. This collaborative effort demonstrated India’s effective AML/CFT framework,” a press release from the government stated.